5 reasons city, county fight over poop
Everyone seems to agree this is no way to win the hearts and minds of voters.More trucks filled with human waste are traveling Hamilton County roads this spring and elected officials aren't happy about it.
But like almost everything else associated with the Metropolitan Sewer District these days, Cincinnati and Hamilton County are at odds over what to do about it. The city, which runs MSD, says the county is obstructionist and meddlesome. The county, which oversees MSD's budget, says the city is wasteful and inept.
The latest spat over how MSD disposes of solid human waste -- the byproduct of every resident in Hamilton County -- shows just how bad the relationship has become. It also shows why that relationship is a growing problem for MSD's ratepayers, whose annual sewer bills have climbed from about $250 to $1,000 in the past decade.
Here are five reasons they're fighting this week over what to do with poop:
Incinerator shut down: Hamilton County primarily uses two methods to dispose of solid waste. It dries the waste and burns it, or dries the waste and buries it.
The burning option took a hit this month when MSD closed its incinerator at the Little Miami Treatment Plant in the East End for maintenance. Because the incinerator no longer meets federal pollution standards, it's unclear when or if it will reopen.
The city and county have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for an extension to operate the incinerator until it builds a suitable replacement facility, but, until they get permission, MSD must ship several truckloads a day of treated solid waste to the Rumpke landfill in Colerain Township.
County officials say this is the city's fault. They say MSD knew the tougher environmental standards were coming and had time to come up with a better solution than trucking the waste on county roads.
City officials say it's more complicated. They want to build a $16 million sewage digester on Kellogg Avenue to replace the incinerator and turn the waste into fertilizer suitable for farms. They'd like to start right away on this project, which they believe would help their case to the EPA to keep the incinerator open temporarily. But they say the county is dragging its feet.
County commissioners, however, say they don't want to build anything new for MSD until they study the issue thoroughly, a process that might not be complete until early next year. "We want to do it right," said Commissioner Chris Monzel.
Trouble at Mill Creek: Monzel said he has good reason to be cautious. He and the other two commissioners blame MSD for problems at the sewer district's Mill Creek Treatment Plant in Lower Price Hill.
Incinerators built on that site three years ago were supposed to serve as a backup for the Little Miami incinerator and, eventually, to handle considerably more solid waste, Monzel said.
Instead, the facility is operating at 60 percent capacity. The reason, as usual, depends on who's talking.
MSD officials say the Mill Creek incinerators can burn more waste, but the facility doesn't have room to bring it into the plant. Additional construction work is needed, they say.
"The city and MSD cannot currently accept additional sludge on a regular basis at the MIll Creek plant," said city spokesman Rocky Merz.
The commissioners say they spent $90 million in ratepayer money on the facility with the understanding it could run at 100 percent capacity. They aren't happy to find out now that it can't and are demanding MSD make changes so the plant can handle more waste.
Changing policies: The Mill Creek incinerators were built on MSD's recommendation, but a new city administration under Mayor John Cranley isn't keen on increasing the amount of waste processed there.
Cranley says odor problems in the area are a priority and he's against anything that would add to the problem, including bringing more waste to the Mill Creek facility.
Commissioners say they want to control odors, too, but they were told the new incinerators would do that. "It was supposed to be able to handle it," Commissioner Todd Portune said. "Now they say it can't."
That position will be tested if the EPA doesn't allow the Little Miami incinerator to reopen, or if it imposes fines that make that impossible. Such a scenario would leave MSD with two options: sending more waste to the Mill Creek incinerators or continuing to truck the waste to the landfill.
At that point, the city and county will have to decide which option they dislike the least.
More money, more problems: The most recent flareup is occurring while the city and county duke it out in federal court over the future of MSD.
The current structure isn't working and the agreement that created this arrangement expires in 2018. The county has asked a federal judge to let it call the shots at MSD, while the city says it should be left alone to run the agency.
Most of the fighting centers on how to manage a $3 billion, court-ordered overhaul of the sewer system. If the fighting goes on, several major projects could be in jeopardy of falling behind schedule.
Portable potties smell, too: The city and county also disagree on how to fix odor problems at Mill Creek's "septage receiving station," which takes in liquid waste from portable toilets and other sources.
Tanker trucks bring the waste every day to the facility so it can be treated along with all the other waste that flows into the plant. The receiving station was built about 10 years ago, and MSD officials say it wasn't designed to reduce odors.
Commissioners say that's news to them.
The county's MSD monitor, Dave Meyer, worked for a private contractor when the station was built and was the project manager. He said the facility is designed to control odors, but MSD employees aren't using the tools they've been given to do so. Meyer said they are leaving manhole covers open and pipes unsealed, allowing foul odors to pour into the air.
"They couldn't do anything worse to create odors," he said.